The End and the Begin
by KaidaHara
Summary: Many know the stories of Steven the crystal gem. But few know the events proceeding and following his birth. These are those stories.


Chapter 1: The End

...

Rose Quarts stood at the sea with Greg closing the camcorder he had lent to her. She had just finished a short video message to her future son, Steven. She looked down and gently put a hand on her stomach where she had formed a place to bring Steven into this world.

"Soon," she whispered softly to herself.

"Soon what?" Greg questioned sneaking up on her.

Rose startled a bit but quickly regained her composure. "Soon we'll eat dinner."

"But I though you gems don't need to eat?" questioned Greg.

Rose grabbed Greg's hands and looked down into his eyes. "I... We don't have much time to be together. So it'd be nice to enjoy what little time we do have together. Even if that means eating dinner."

Greg gave a big innocent smile to Rose. "Ahh yeah. After the little stew ball gets here I guess we won't have much time to just _be together_."

"Exactly" Rose said avoiding eye contact. "Speaking of stew I think that place... um with the stew and pie? I think that would be good to eat" Rose fumbled over her words trying to quickly change the subject.

"You mean Fish Stew Pizza?" Greg questioned. "It just opened up but it seems like a great place to eat. Although I'm not sure how fist, stew, or pizza taste together."

"I'm sure it will be fine" Rose said trying to lead him towards the town.

"You're probably right," he smiled and they went off for one last dinner _together_.

...

Rose picked around her pizza as Greg worked on his third slice. The sat towards the back of the new restaurant. An older lady sat at the front of the shop ready to take orders if anyone walked in. But no one did. And two very young girls sat a a table not far from Rose and Greg. They where coloring on some of the kid menus quietly until one took a crayon from the other and the other started to cry. Rose wondered what kind of person her Steven would become. She dazed off imagining him living a normal life enjoying the planet she fought so hard to save. Of course Rose knew she would never even lay eyes on her son, never mind see what he would become.

"Rose?" Greg asked taking her from her trance. "Are you okay? You've bearly touched your pizza. And I know you don't have to eat and all, but are you okay?"

Greg rambled on a bit more. Rose could tell he was trying hard to be more adult. But he was so young in her eyes. In his twenties he said. Rose couldn't even remember being in her triple digits living on HomeWorld. "Yes," she answered simply. But within Rose's mind was anything but simple. She had known from the start what would happen when Steven entered the world. Or she at least had speculated. And sometimes in her dreams she imagined Steven would be just a normal human with no gem. And how she would see him grow and become strong in all the real ways that matter.

"Rose?"

"Huh?" She questioned once again being pulled out of her thoughts.

Greg looked up at her. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what again?"

"Looking lost. Like you're not here. Seriously I don't know there first thing about... um.. your kind and... uh.. how you guy reproduce and stuff but I know your not like this."

Rose let out a sigh. "Maybe I'm just tired." she lied.

"But I thought gems don't get tired," he said softly. "Maybe I should just take you back to the temple."

"That would be wonderful. " she said. "And Greg"

"Yes?"

"Oh ... Never mind."

...

"Hay your back!" Amethyst cheered. She had been sitting on the temple's edge waiting for Rose to return. "And you brought back the human!"

"Well I wasn't going to leave him" Rose said jokingly.

Amethyst jumped off the wall and ran to Greg as she shapeshifted into a dog. "We should play! We should play" she chanted jumping around him.

"Uh I don't think so Amethyst," Greg said rubbing the back of his head. "It's been a long day I think I'm going to hit the hay."

"Hit! I'll hit something!" she responded by morphing into a wrestler. "I'll hit all the things!"

"It's an expression," Greg responded. "Anyways goodnight Rose."

Picking up and holding the now disappointed pint sized Amethyst, Rose waved goodnight from the entrance of the temple. Greg climbed back into his van that he parked every night in front of the temple. Rose smiled and turned around towards the door when she heard him yell s something.

"What was that?" she called back.

"I said 'See you in the morning'"

Something about that message did not settle right with Rose. As if she knew she would never see tomorrow's sunrise.


End file.
